The Long Road to Peace
by Slice of Cheese
Summary: "Demigods are neither be mortal men or god, but they belong to both worlds." AU, post LO
1. A Prelude With Clotho

I am spinning, always spinning. I spin, from life unto death, I spin. It is all I ever do, spin. I spin life. My thread, the life thread, decides everything. It decides who must be born, and must die. It decides how a life begins, and how it decides which course in life a man will take. My thread makes all, creates all, and ends all.

I spin a thread of what is to come. My thread is what one's fate will be, what it was. I decide the fate of mortal's, even over the decision of Zeus. I can change reality if so I choose. I am almighty.

That is not to say that I make most decisions. In fact, I mostly decide the outcome; leaving most things to chance. I really only making a string that guides someone in the right direction if they are destined for greatness. I prefer to let the insignificant decide their own outcomes, it keeps things interesting.

Occasionally, there comes a crossroad for incredible power, where someone can not just influence the world but change it. I have the most difficulty spinning these threads. One small mistake and anything I am planning comes falling apart.

Ultimately, it is the individual that decides their own fate. They make their own choices in life. There are billions of people making thousands of choices every day, leaving a near infinite amount of ways subtly to radically different ways for the world to end.

Some call it the butterfly effect, but a decision as mild as to turn your left instead of right could change the world.

~oO0Oo~

**A.N. Do not be alarmed at the length. This is suppost to be only a prelude, as in suppost to be short. I plan on making the first real chapter at least 1,000 words long. In real life, I'm a blunt person, so longer chapters that aren't almost complete filler is difficult for me. Don't expect updates faster than once a month, but the first real chapter is already in progress.**


	2. Chapter 1

The battle for Olympus was over. The demigods had won the battle, but there had been high casualties. Nearly half of cabin eleven had been killed in the violence, and most of Aphrodite's children had been obliterated by various monsters and debris in the battle, Silena having several deep, painful looking wounds. Many children of Apollo had been targeted, being the camp's field medics. Pollux from Cabin Twelve had fallen to an arrow to the heart. Several of Demeter's kids had died, and all of them were hurt in some way. Even some of the hunters had died, unprepared for monsters so well organized. Most of Hephaestus', Athena's, and Ares' children had made it though with moderate to minor wounds. They looked smaller though, and weary with battle fatigue.

Percy didn't really understand what exactly he had done to Kronos, and probably never would. One moment he had hit Kronos in Luke's mortal spot, the next moment there were two people there. One was normal Luke, shivering and exhausted, the other was a face that he had never seen before, Kronos.

Hestia quickly came out from her fire, and several nature spirits rushed up with a magical golden net and laid it on Kronos, trapping him within its power. The net that had held Zeus during the small coup to make him be a better leader. It was clear that Hestia had been preparing for this for a long time.

"Why do this daughter?" Kronos said after what was either a few moments or a few hours of struggling, "You could be a great and powerful goddess with me. Instead, you're your siblings fire maid." It was a last ditch effort to get free in manipulating his daughter.

Hestia replied coldly and calmly, "I would rather be a poor man's servant under gods than the queen of the titans." Cheering erupted from our side at her statement.

While Kronos was struggling with the net, Luke tried to make a run for it. Thinking fast, Charles Beckendorf tackled him.

"Your lighting your own funeral pyre, you know?" Luke groaned as Beckendorf got off him and pulled him to his feet, "They don't care about anyone but themselves. They claim us, then expect us to do their dirty work."

A chill ran down Percy's back as Luke said that, remembering his second summer at camp and Hermes sending him on a mission to save Luke.

"Do you think the Titans would be any better? At least our parents put in a helping hand for us every once in awhile. That's probably more than the titans would do," Beckendorf retorted.

It was then that thunder roared. They could all see what was going outside from within the throne room. The sight was amazing. Their Olympians parents were circling Typhon, shooting various weapons of immense power. It didn't seem to be slowing Typhon down though, he just kept walking west.

Typhon stepped into the Hudson river, and Zeus took out his master bolt. Zeus took aim, not a Typhon, but the river below them, and let go. When the bolt hit the water, there was so much energy released that we could see the electrical current with ease. Typhon let out a horrible scream before dissolving into a dust storm. Percy didn't need his powers to tell him that a lot of fish died in that attack. Percy noticed out of the corner of his eye that Zeus had materialized into the throne room as Typhon dissolved.

"Come, we have much to discuss," he thundered. In the blink of an eye, the other Olympians were in their thrones, along with Hades in the shadows, much rather spending this time wife over squabbling with family.

"What must we speak of now, father?" Mr. D sighed, clearly wishing he was someplace else.

"They have gone to far for the last time. They demand training, aid, and a place to live. Yet when they have had their fill of food and drink, they refuse to have anything to do with us, or even worse: they try to wrestle power from us. Brother, wasn't only hours ago that your own son took seat upon your own chair?" Zeus said.

"Yes, but…" Poesidon started to say before he was interrupted.

"Proof that they neither respect nor appreciate us!" Zeus declared, "Punishment shall be eternal servitude!"

"Father, if I may bring to light that a large number of demigods–" Athena started.

"Quite! My judgement is final or so help me I will cast you down from Olympus myself!" Zeus interrupted. That quieted her down real fast.

"Before we continue, does anyone else have something to say about this? Choose your words wisely now, we don't want anyone to have to regret what they say here," Zeus warned.

A round of grumbled noes went around the room, no one really wanting to test how far Zeus would take his threat.

Zeus then seemed to notice the demigods for the first time. "What are all of you still doing here? Leave us alone, you don't need to hear this," he said before waiving them out into the surrounding courtyards.

oO0Oo

Percy found Nico in one of the courtyards, and sat down next to him.

"Percy, I'm scared," Nico said with a sudden tremble in his voice.

"Why?" Percy asked, surprised that he would actually tell me this.

"I spent sixty years in the Lotus Hotel. Sixty years, and all I had after that besides the clothing on my back was my sister and my name. I lost a lifetime in there. If Zeus really means what he said about servitude, then I'll never get to start over."

He didn't know what to say to him after that. What do you say to the boy who's lost everything?

There was one thing that Percy did understand about their world after that. Demigods are neither be mortal men or god, but they belong to both worlds. They were heroes, supposedly allowed to go anywhere we had the nerve to go, but they weren't supposed to leave camp without permission from Mr. D. He was starting to get sick of the hypocrisy There was no way in hell that he was going to be any god's slave for the rest of his life, whether Zeus accepted that or not.

oO0Oo

**Author's Note: ****Yes, random characters never died, but that is why this is more of an AU than an alternative ending.**


	3. Chapter 2

Percy didn't know how long he waited before the Olympians came out after his talk with Nico. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, and that time was a blur to him. He did remember helping Cabin Seven tend to the wounded though; fetching bandages and stuff like that for them.

When the gods came out of their meeting, demigods started asking their parents questions.

"What was the verdict?"

"What'll happen to us?"

"Did Zeus really mean that servitude stuff?"

Poseidon walked over to Percy and grabbed him by the arm. He snapped his fingers and gone they were.

The feeling of godly teleport is something no one can't really describe. It's like your in a vacuum, and you can't move at all. At the same time, your everywhere, going everyplace at once. It was so much more than that, yet so much less.

It ended as quickly as it started, nearly taking Percy's breath away. It only took a moment for him to realize that they were under water. In Poseidon's palace.

From within the shadow of a column, someone said, "So the Prodigal Son returns. What party are you planning for the great savior of Olympus? Half your kingdom lays in ruins, and still you bring him here."

"Enough Triton. He could no more prevent this war than the one above the waves," Poseidon ordered as the person moved out of the shadow to reveal someone who looked like a merman, just with two tails instead of one. Triton, messenger and only son of Poseidon born in wedlock.

"Why not blame him? If it wasn't for his birth, none of this," he gestured to parts of the palace that were in ruins, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have had this war."

"Leave us Triton; and don't harass your half-brother." Triton left the room after that.

"Come with me, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. Pay attention, my home can be difficult for newcomers to navigate, particularly it's in this state," Poseidon said.

Left. Right. Another right. It didn't take very long to reach the bedroom. It was simple, with a narrow bed in the corner, a closet at the end and a small table with a single chair that could easily double for a desk pushed against the wall.

Percy stepped in and stared for a moment. Though it probably wasn't that big by godly standards, it was still larger than the room he had in the apartment he shared with his mother.

A hand appeared on his shoulder, causing him to turn around in surprise and come face to face with his father. He hadn't realized that the god had come in after him.

"Percy, you need to promise me one thing while you stay here," he said in a solemn voice.

"Sure, what?" he answer.

"Always tell me when you leave my palace, and never go without my permission. My brother hates, for more reasons than you probably will ever know," Poseidon told him.

"It's because I'm you son, isn't it? I was proof of your broken oath, the prophecy kid, and survived to get to Camp Half-Blood better than Thalia. Is he angry that I'm yours instead of his?"

"Yes. Now go to sleep my son," with that he waved his hand. He stammered back, fell onto the bed, and fell asleep.

oO0O0

"Children, my children, come follow me," Athena called.

Her children approached her curiously, she having never been with all of them at once outside their Camp's field trip to Mt. Olympus years ago, when Luke stole the Master Bolt.

"Follow me, I shall show you where you will be dwelling for the night," she said before taking off at a brisk walk towards the more residential part of Olympus, her children in tow.

"Um…Mother?" Malcolm asked cautiously, "Where are we going?"

"To my abode, my children. That is where we will be spending the night," she answered.

A few moments later, Annabeth asks, "Mother, what is going on? What is our fate going to be now that Zeus has made his decree?"

By this time, they had made it to Athena's palace, which had received some damage over the course of the battle for Olympus. With the snap of the fingers from the wise goddess, the building repaired itself and Athena led them inside.

"These rooms," she said, pointing to a hallway with a number of doors equal to the number of living children of Athena, "Is where you will be staying. You may each choose one. For your question Annabeth, I will tell all of my children in the morning."

Athena then exited the hallway, leaving her sons and daughters to their own devices.

oO0Oo

"You know where you can sleep," Hades told his son.

"Yes, father," Nico chanted before shadow traveling to where he usually spent his nights.

oO0Oo

When Hermes reaches Luke, he half grabs him, half embraces him. Before Luke can protest, they are already somewhere more private than the Olympian throne room or the surrounding gardens.

Hermes holds Luke in his arms, and to Luke's surprise, starts to cry. "I'm so sorry. I have failed you as a father. I wish I had acted differently," Hermes mumbled to Luke.

After a while of this Hermes starts to calm down, his tears start to dry. He poof's the rest of his children into his palace.

"I'm sorry," Hermes whispers to his children, "I didn't think to prepare more rooms for you."

He pointed to a small number of doors across the room. Inside the rooms were enough beds for everyone to have their own, a stark contrast to his cabin at Camp Half-Blood.

oO0Oo

The children of Hephaestus were in what was easily the best equipped forage they had ever seen. Needless to say, they were more than a little excited.

"She's a beauty, isn't she? As long as you don't break anything you can't fix, we should have a good time together. Am I right?" Hephaestus addresses his sons and daughters from behind. The youths were speechless, and Hephaestus laughed to himself.

"Just remember to tell me if anything happens to one of my projects and everything will be alright," the lame god said, more so to reassure himself.

oO0Oo

"Get started, punks," Ares growled to his offspring, whom he had gathered outside his armory.

"Get started on what? And where are we supposed to sleep? There's no cots in here," said one bold, but incredibly stupid kid.

At those demands, Ares eyes glow red, and the child who had made that statement was thrown across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud and knocking him unconscious. People pick up the first thing they could reach, and depending on whether it was a shield or sword, they start polishing and sharpening. Ares let out a terrifying laugh that only made them work harder.

oO0Oo

_Enter_, the voice of Zeus rang in the head of Thalia. She complied, not wanting to risk the consequences of disobedience.

"I assume that you want to be going on, daughter?" Zeus asked in all seriousness, not really needing to hear the reply to know the answer.

Thalia opened her mouth to speak, but for some reason she could only find herself nodding.

"Then let me tell you all about it."

oO0Oo

**Next Morning**

"Attention demigods," Zeus's voice thundered across the mythological world, "Your life begins anew today, for you completely belong to your godly parents, until your debt to us is payed in full. That is why guidelines for your service has been laid out for you by us. Firstly, a demigod may not set out to injure a Olympian or, through inaction, allow a Olympian to come to harm. Secondly, A demigod must obey any orders given to it by Olympian, except where such orders would conflict with the first guideline. Finally, a demigod must protect its own existence as long as said protection doesn't contradict the first or second guideline."

Shock was the best way to describe that atmosphere when Zeus had quieted.

oO0Oo

**Six Weeks Later**

Six weeks ago, Zeus made the ultimate decision deciding the course of all demigods lives. Six weeks ago, Percy Jackson went to live with his father. Six weeks ago, he became part of my father's honor guard. Six weeks ago, he lost his liberty.

It's not that his father really took advantage of having him as his slave. He put him at the bottom rung of his honor guard, which entails dealing with violent disputes and fighting any army that the old sea gods sent on his behalf, but he mostly leaves the boy to his own devices.

Occasionally, Hermes gives him news on what has happened to the other demigods while delivering a message. Demeter's kids spend time managing some of their mother's flower beds, and according to him, Persephone has taken a liking to demigod half-siblings. Annabeth and her siblings alternate between watching all the interesting things their mother's home and studying from their mother's extensive library on the ancient world. Apollo's kids practically run wild on Olympus according to Hermes, and at least half of his daughters are part of Artemis's hunt in all but name, while Ares kids are stuck taking care of their father's armor.

From what Hermes understands, Aphrodite's remaining kids lives haven't changed drastically from their lives at camps. They still fuss with their appearances, they still gossip about the latest news, the only real difference is that they live in their mother's home on Olympus and have to go to market for her.

Cabin 9's and Nico's life also haven't changed all that much either. Cabin 9 adjusted from masters of their forage to assistants in it. Nico's life has probably changed the least. Besides becoming a judge for the dead, Hermes quoted Hades in saying "Needed to keep a closer eye on the boy," Nico's life was more or less the same.

Almost everyone under Hermes care have been working for him, delivering non priority mail to recipients to relieve the workload. He's still working on gaining Luke's trust before sending him out. The last I heard about Thalia was that she was a cupbearer for her father and Hera.

oO0Oo

Annabeth was looking in a large book of her mother's on the ancient laws.

_Seven is a powerful number, second only to three. Marking the amount of gods on the Olympian council, it is majority number needed for a decree to passed in which none of the twelve Olympian gods have direct reign over. If this majority of seven is not supporting of such a decree, it is within others rights to form a group of seven to dethrone the god or goddess who forced said decree._

A light bulb went up overAnnabeth's brain. She ran out into the street, and surprisingly found Hermes taking a stroll.

"Lord Hermes," Annabeth asked, "What brings you to these parts?"

"Well," Hermes replied kindly "Since I've been having my children helping me with deliveries, I've found that I have more time to enjoy myself."

"I need you to deliver a message, please. We can discuss price later. I need you to tell Percy, Thalia, Nico," she paused for a moment, thinking on who else to include, "Along with Beckendorf, Clarisse, and Luke to meet me tomorrow at about midday."

"Where?"


	4. Chapter 3

"What do you want this time?" Luke asked as Hermes walked into the room.

"Can't I just want to spend time with my favorite son?" Hermes retorted.

"It's a little late for that," Luke told the god coldly.

"I'm sorry I could not be there for you and your mother, but the ancient laws…"

"Damn the ancient laws!" Luke interrupted, "You don't know what I've been through because _you weren't there!_ You weren't there for the episodes! You weren't there for the long nights in the cold when she couldn't hold a job to pay the electricity bill! You didn't even come to say hi until I was fourteen and you wanted me to go off to that stupid camp!" By this time, Luke was fuming.

"That night I told you to go to camp, I was actually checking up on your mother," Hermes told the young man.

"That still doesn't mean you actually cared," Luke sneered.

Hermes sighed. "I always cared."

"Prove it then."

"Why do you think your mother's house was never foreclosed even though she hasn't payed the mortgage since you were eight? Who do you think made sure you weren't caught when you stole food and the supplies you needed to make it on your own when you and your friends were on the run? I was responsible," Hermes practically thundered.

"You mean… You did…" Luke stammered.

"Yeas, son, it was me," Hermes told his son.

"You mean it was all for nothing?" Luke was holding barely constrained tears in his eyes now, "You mean all that work, all that fighting was for nothing. You mean we can't go home, we can't pursue our dreams, we can't even decide to go sit in the strawberry patches all because I didn't see you? Did we do all that fighting _just because Zeus wouldn't let you send a note?"_

"Yes son, I don't like it any more than you…"

"You lie!" he shrieked before running off.

"…Do." _That's just what I need. My terrorist son is freaking out because all that he did is for nothing, and now he's running lose on Olympus. I better go find him,_ Hermes thought.

"This is going to be a long day," Hermes muttered to himself before he jogged out of his palace in search of Luke.

oO0Oo

Hermes found Luke sitting under a pretty oak tree in one of Olympus' many parks. He was sitting against the trunk, just breathing like all he wanted to do was to stay calm and keep his composure for anyone who passed him by.

"You okay?" Hermes asked his son as he sat down next to him.

"It's just a lot for me to take in, mentally. For most of my life, I've pictured you as some uncaring, omnipotent, being. To find out that you do care, and the war; all the pain and suffering and death I've caused, it was just too much," Luke said.

"You've always been my favorite. I loved your mother very much, and loved you in term. That doesn't mean I don't love your brothers or sisters.

"Your mother tried to take the spirit of Delphi, after you were born. It had always inhibited clear-sighted, _virgin_ women. Not only had no mother ever tried to take the spirit, the spirit itself had been staying in the same, decomposing body for about twenty or thirty years. It's hard to keep track of exact years when your immortal. In retrospect, it probably had a curse on it, resulting in your mother's insanity," Hermes gushed out to his son, hoping that it would be enough to start repairing the damage.

Luke just sighed wearily.

"I almost forgot! I have a message from that old daughter of Athena friend of yours, Annabeth," Hermes leaned in real close to his son and continued in a whisper. "She said to meet you at the Budget Inn on the corner of East Third Street and First Avenue. She said it was of the utmost importance to end Zeus' contemptible treatment of half-bloods."

Luke just stared at his Olympian father, amazed.

**A/N: This started as a character development chapter post chapter 3, but took a life of it's own, becoming chapter 3 and turning the original chapter 3 into chapter 4. Since I don't live in New York City, can any readers who live there point out any inaccuracy.**


	5. Chapter 4

The group had gathered together in a cheap, rundown motel on Manhattan.

"Why are we here?" Clarisse practically growled at Annabeth.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Percy snapped at Clarisse, annoyed at her attitude. It had been difficult for him to sneak away to go to this, and he didn't really want to push how long Tyson could cover for him.

"Calm down guys, let Annabeth talk," Beckendorf stepped in before it could become to big of a fight.

"Well, yesterday I was looking through this book. I found a section that was pretty interesting," she paused for a moment, as if she was afraid to say it.

"So?" Nico said, bringing up what they all wanted to to know, what was so important about a passage from some book?

"It's what the passage contained that was important," she said, giving a patented "stop being stupid," glare.

"If it's so important, then get on with it," Luke said. Hermes had barley let him come, not fully trusting him not to pull some stunt. The only reason that he had let him out was that he thought that we would be a "good influence" on him. That's what everyone heard.

"I was reading one of my mother's books on the ancient," she started, still not completely sure if it was a good idea to share the information. "It said that seven votes are needed to pass something by the Olympian council. If less than seven make a big decision, they can be kicked out by seven others."

"Are you saying what I think your saying?" Thalia exclaimed.

"Yeah." Thalia hugged Annabeth, excited at her discovery. Her father and step-mother hadn't necessarily been treating her poorly, but the restrictiveness had been treading heavily on her soul.

"We wouldn't stand a chance against the gods," Luke said, raining on everybody's parade.

"Why not?" Percy asked him.

"Well, Jackson, I stormed Olympus with an army of hundreds consisting demigods, titans, monsters, and minor gods. It failed to hold up against a few dozen kids and centaurs. Is that enough of an answer for you?" he barked.

"This time will be different," Annabeth barged in, "This time we'll be going against only one god. We can do that, in fact Percy took on Ares when he was only twelve. Zeus won't have the support of the major gods this time either, and he's the one we want out. If we hadn't been around to guard Olympus, it would have fallen."

"How do you expect us to take him down? What's your plan?" Percy asked.

"Beckendorf, how well and how soon can you have us armed?" Annabeth asked.

"I can have swords and spears for us in a week. Armor and shields will take longer. I can be done sooner depending on what supplies you guys managed to keep and if Percy doesn't mind going out with just the Curse of Achilles," he said.

"I don't mind, dude. And I still have Riptide," Percy said.

Everyone started jamming on to Beckendorf how well armed they were. Annabeth still had her knife, Nico his sword. Thalia still had her bracelet that turned into a shield, and Clarisse reported on how much she thought she could get away with sneaking out of her father's armory.

"How about you, Luke?" Thalia asked.

"They, uh, don't trust me with weapons yet. I don't have anything," Luke replied, looking slightly embarrassed.

"We need to fix that," Beckendorf told Luke with a smile.

Annabeth continued "While waiting for Beckendorf to get the rest of the armor and weapons, we'll be gathering what else we need for the attack. Thalia will spy on her father, getting to know anything and everything she can on what makes him weak or vulnerable. Nico will be gathering undead soldiers and will try to get Hades to join the fight with us. I'll use what info is gathered to plan an attack. Luke will join his father's messenger's corps and serve as a messenger between us if Zeus gets suspicious."

"I might be able to get my father to tell me directly about any of Zeus' weaknesses. Even though he participated in the battle, he's still angry about being forced into the Underworld," Nico said.

"What'll I do?" Clarisse and Percy said at the same time.

"Clarisse, your good at fighting. You'll cover our backs on the attack," Clarisse groaned at the practically useless job, "Percy, you lead us in the battle of Manhattan. I was thinking that you would lead the assault when the day comes." He sighed at the short-term job.

"We need swear and oath to not betray anyone in this room before we leave," Clarisse said, her eyes shifting suspiciously to Luke.

"Really?" Thalia put in.

"I agree," Annabeth said, "People are little less likely to fall to temptation with a feeling of commitment brought by an oath. I have one, repeat after me."

After the oath had been taken and everyone was getting ready to leave, Nico really spoke up for the first time. "What'll we call ourselves?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked back at him.

"What do I mean is what will we call ourselves? On TV, a group like us would give itself a name."

"How about Galatea? Like in the myth, we were sculpted by man, and given life by the gods," Annabeth put in, more interested in keeping Nico from getting upset than the actual subject at hand.

"Not a sissy name like Galatea. We need a strong name," Clarisse put in vehemently.

"Do you have a better name?" Annabeth retorted, a spark had gone off in her eyes with the challenge.

Clarisse thought for a moment. "How about 'The Youth of Liberty.'"

"To long," Nico said quickly.

"'Soldiers of Paradise?'"

"Too idealist."

"And the other names aren't?"

"Good point."

"'Fight Club?'"

"That's a movie."

"Dammit. All right, it can be Galatea," Clarisse gave in.

"What about code names?" Annabeth's eye twitched.

"Why do we need code names?"

"So no one knows who we're talking to."

"You know, we will be talking, for the most part, in person."

"Yeah, but can we please have code names? Pretty please?"

Annabeth sighed. "What where you thinking?"

"Maybe we could use letters from the Greek alphabet, like 'alpha,' 'beta,' 'gamma.'"

"Dead boy, are you really holding us up for this!" Clarisse snarled in impatience.

"Forget about it," Nico said disappointedly.

oO0Oo

Everyone was pilling out of the hotel room, and Annabeth was going to check out. That's when Percy pulled Nico aside.

"Disappointed?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Tell you what, how about we create code names ourselves? I think they'll be a good idea too."

Nico's face lifted. "I wanna be Gamma."

"Why Gamma?"

"I just like it."

"I think Annabeth should be Delta, because of the Daedalus thing," the younger boy said.

"Good choice. I'm thinking Omega for Luke, I don't trust him."

"'Kay, Thalia should be Alpha. She used to be Artemis's lieutenant and though I hate him, her father is king," Percy said. "Not for long though," he quickly added in a whisper.

"Nah, you strike me as more of an Alpha. I think she should be Beta."

"What should Beckendorf and Clarisse be?"

"Sigma. It looks just like a shield and spear."

"You know, your right."

"Beckendorf should be Zeta."

"Why Zeta?"

"It's underused. I also just like the name of it."

When their conversation ended, Nico slunked back into the shadows.

"Thanks Percy," he said as his form melted away, and Percy turned away and headed towards his mother's apartment.


	6. An Interlude With Lachesis

I measure, that is all I ever do. I measure what is to come, and that is all I ever measure for. When I measure, I figure out how my sister's plans will play out. It is I who decides if one shall dodge or block. I decide exactly what the course of a life shall be.

What my job is is to make the decisions for my sister's grand plan. I decide if the decision is subtle, made at the back of one's mind, or grand, schemed with all the wisdom one holds.

Many mortals have believed that Janus makes decisions that one cannot make for one's self. Brighter mortals have thought he just lays out the options for you. In reality, he just makes you realize the decision you have already made. He sometimes forgets this, but he is only a pawn for carrying out destinies.

Some would think that it would think that it would be difficult to make the world in the proper image if you cannot decide the layout yourself. It is quite contrary to that. If you have the events, you know exactly where your going.

Life is a difficult thing. You try and try and try again to change things to your liking, but all you ever get is disappointment.

oO0Oo

**This is for people who have been patiently waiting. Note that the title changed. You can vote to change it back on my profile.**


	7. Chapter 5

Percy stood outside his mother's front door. He didn't know if he wanted to go in. It had been six weeks since he had last talked or even seen her. Heck, he didn't even know if she knew he was still alive. _Janus, help me decide,_ his subconscious murmured when knocked on the door.

Paul answered the door. His face appeared to have aged a lot in the six weeks since Percy had last seen him, more so than what was probably healthy for a mortal. His eyes brighten a little bit, and his face does not try to hide the shock. "Sally! Come here! You won't believe this!" he yelled inside the apartment.

Sally Jackson came to the door of her apartment, and her appearance terrified her. Her eyes seemed to have lost their twinkle, her hair was duller. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying a lot, and she didn't look like she was eating or sleeping right.

She blinked once. Twice. Her lips twisted upward into a smile. She hugged the teenager tightly.

"Why haven't you contacted mr yet? I thought you were dead!" she yelled at her son when she had finished hugging him, more out of concern than anger.

"Some things happened after we beat Kronos. We couldn't leave immediately. If I could, I would have come sooner," Percy said.

"Why don't you tell me exactly what happened?" Sally asked. So he told her, without leaving anything out. For the first time in his short life among gods and monsters, he told her absolutely everything. He didn't leave things out or edit them to seam less dangerous, she deserved to know what was happening in her son's life. It must have taken half the night, and by the time he was finished he was exhausted.

"It's getting late, why don't you go to bed? There's nothing that can't wait 'til morning," she ordered as she marched him off to bed.

That night he slept better than he had any night since before the war started.

oO0Oo

_Where was I_? Percy thought groggily as he opened his eyes when he woke up in the morning. Then he remembered what happened the night before: Annabeth's plan to get rid of Zeus, visiting my mom, and _not returning_ to Poseidon's palace.

"Bye mom!" he shouted running across the living room, "Dad's going to kill me if I don't get back. I'll call or Iris Message when I can!" Even as he ran full speed towards the docks, he knew there was going to be no way he was going to get back soon enough to escape punishment.

oO0Oo

When he got back, he could tell something was wrong. There wan't anything out of place, it was subtler than that. It was the way the water held itself, the lack of living things mulling around, and the feeling of tenseness that usually followed a really bad argument.

When he got closer to my room, he could hear voices. He cracked the door ever so slightly to see what was happening.

"Tyson, can you tell me exactly what Percy told you?" Poseidon tried to coax out of Tyson, who was crying.

"Tell me where he is. I'll take care of him," Triton butted in. Tyson started to cry harder.

"You're not helping!" my father growled.

That is when Percy stepped in and made his presence known.

"Where have you been?" Poseidon exploded.

"I've went to see my mom," he said quietly. This is the angriest he had ever seen his father be at him.

"_I told you to inform me when you leave!_" he yelled, slipping into ancient Greek.

"I really wanted to surprise her. It's been weeks and she didn't even know I alive! She had been_ crying _when I got there!" Percy was getting defensive at this point.

"It does not matter Perseus! You could have been killed, or worse. If you had informed me that you have put of alerting your mother to the current climate of our world for so long, I would have gone and told her myself! I don't have a choice now."

He hated to admit it, but Percy was scared then. He was confused, and the last time a god was this ominous he had lost his lost much of his freedom, particularly to travel freely.

"You're going to be grounded for a while," he said.

"That's all?" Percy was surprised at how light my punishment sounded.

Poseidon snapped his fingers, and he had a ballpoint pen in his fingers. Anaklusmos. Mermen guards seemed to melt strait out the water. Percy started to panic, remembering when Hades had put him away before he could bathe in the River Styx. He started to thrash.

"It won't work," Triton, who seemed to be enjoying himself in the scene, told the demigod.

They drag Percy deep within the confines of the central structure of the palace, towards the prison section. They entered the section for low security prisoners and marched Percy down the cell block. At the end, they open a small, poorly lit room and threw him in.

"I'll see you in a few days, Perseus," said Triton, who had followed them, with a grin to menacing for Percy to like plastered on his face.

"Why do you hate me so much?" the younger one managed to get out before the the door was closed.

oO0Oo

Percy had no idea how long he stayed in that cell. It could have been days, it could have been hours. He had no working watch, and there was no window that he could use to observe activity outside.

After who knows how long, which was way to long for him, somebody opened the door. "Your time is up, you can go," said the person, who Percy didn't even bother look at as he walked out of the cell. He needed to find Triton.

oO0Oo

Percy was right outside the game room, where he had heard Triton had been since this morning. He thought about taking Riptide out and charge in to confront the minor deity with his faithful sword at his side when he stopped for a moment to think. He was planning to attack his brother, who just so happens to be heir to Poseidon's throne. Attacking with a weapon would just be an excuse to put him back in the dungeon, but for longer this time.

"What do you want?" Triton asked, annoyed when the mortal walked into the room.

"I just want to talk."

"Leave me alone, kid. I don't feel like talking to you." Percy wasn't going to let him win that easily.

"No. Why are you so nasty to me?" Percy asked.

"You want to know why I hate you?" he exploded. "You want to know? It's because dad betrayed Amphitrite, my mother, with your mother to have _you! _Every time you come back, it's just one more reminder that he isn't loyal to her, at least not fully." He was hysterical at this point. Percy couldn't help but feel a twang of pity as his temper rose.

"You think I wanted to be a demigod? You think I wanted to be involved in the war? Do you honestly think that I wanted to be hunted from before I could walk by the things of nightmares just because the father I never knew happened to be a god?" Percy turned his back on Triton and walked out of that city beneath the sea that, not looking back.


	8. Chapter 6

**AN: **You will probably notice with this update that all the chapters, bar the prelude and interlude, have been put into the third person.****

**A lot of titles are running through my head, and I can't decide which one is the best fit. If you care about what the actual title is, will you leave a review stating your preference? Anonymous reviews are enabled.**

Percy had reached the outer courtyard of the palace before someone decided to stop him. The merman put a hand on the demigod's shoulder, and his voice rang out with regret, "I'm sorry, sir, but the lord told us not to ket you leave."

Percy was still angry about what Triton had said when he uttered "I'm sorry too. Because I'm not staying here," before spinning around and punching the merman strait in the jaw, knocking him out.

The other guards, who had been waiting to see what would happen, rushed towards them as Percy carefully lowered the unconscious merman to the ocean floor beneath them.

Two guards thrusted their spears at him – one aimed at the leg, the other the shoulder – both of which broke under the stress placed on him due to the Achilles Curse.

Percy's hand went to his pocket to grab the pen that just so happened to be his sword, only to find it empty. He never went to retrieve it, and would have to rely on his other skills to win this battle.

His water powers were used to their full advantage. A powerful stream of water from his thrashing arm sent the closest to mermen, the ones who sent their spears at him, flying. One knocked the other down as he landed. A whirlpool then formed around him, sending the mermen to a safe distance.

Within the heart of the whirlpool, Percy hurtled upwards through the water, picking up speed as the current pushes him harder than ever before towards Manhattan. He figured that with so many mortals crowded on there, the semi recent battle, and all the demigods on Olympus mixed in, all the confusing smells might buy him some time if he laid low.

It only took him a few minutes to reach the surface at the accumulative speed he was going at compared to the fifteen minutes it had taken to get to the little war meeting, and the ten minutes it had taken him while hurrying to back Poseidon's Palace.

He shot out of the Hudson River near Albany Street, and scrambled off the shore and up to the pavement, then started running. He had left against his father's orders, and assaulted several palace guards in the process, meaning he was in big trouble. _I should get out of Manhattan, he's likely look there first for me, _he thought.

That was the problem though. If he exited across either rivers, he would run the high risk of his father seeing him. If he exited through the sky, Zeus would see him and blast him back down to earth.

He then, completely to his surprise, ran literally into Nico. They both came crashing down, Nico going with a small yelp of surprise. By this time, he had gotten to Pumphouse Park. Suddenly, it hit him, _Nico! _Nico could probably shadow travel him out of New York.

"Nico, I need you to get me out of New York," Percy said while helping the younger boy up, "Fast."

"What?" he murmured, dazed and confused by the suddenness.

"Quick," Percy said, pulling him towards the shadow of a tall building.

Both boys leaked into nothing.

oO0Oo

"Where are we?" Percy asked when they had reappeared. The location that they had arrived in was a small dirt trial leading into a harbor, and the sky was overcast and the air was foggy; a storm was brewing, or perhaps just ending here.

"I don't know," Nico said, almost as confused as Percy. "I was thinking about Albany, New York, but we ending up here."

Percy looked out over the water. He could see some mortals out on the harbor, sailing about half a dozen boats slightly smaller than the ones used in the Olympics. One was heeled over badly and capsized, her crew falling into the water.

Percy takes a step forward, ready to hop in and help the mortals put their boat right when a voice ordered "No, wait and watch what they do, child." The voice sounded ancient, powerful, and hypnotizing. It sounded like many people had called out to him as one being.

By this time, one of the crew, a teenager with a bright orange hat, had managed to make his way around the side of the boat and was climbing onto the centerboard. A motorboat had also made it's way to the boat, and seemed to be observing.

The teenager then started pulling on the centerboard. The boat shook for a few moments and slowly turned upright to reveal another teenage being scooped up into it. The person in the boat put it in irons and then turned around to help her companion into it.

"Who are you?" Nico asked as he turned around after the display to see elderly woman with knitting needles and yarn around them.

"I am Clotho, the spinner of threads," the first one said.

"I am Lachesis, the measurer of threads," the second one said.

"And I am Atropos, the cutter of threads. You may know my sisters and me as the fates," the final one said.

"Why did you come to visit us?" Percy asked absentmindedly.

"We have come to give you part of your destiny," Clotho said, which was met with an "Oh." Nico mentally smacked himself.

"You must defeat Zeus, Perseus. This will perhaps be one of the greatest things you will do," Lachesis said.

"There is something I want to warn you about, Percy. To do so, I must first explain," Atropos said. "There are two kinds of mist. The first kind is the kind that settles on gods, hiding their godly form and determining the shape that will replace it, or if it will disappear completely to all but those of their choosing. Each god can manipulate it at will and it cannot be seen though by mortals. The second kind is what hides your celestial bronze sword as something else, such as a lacrosse stick or baseball bat, and change monsters into men, to mortals. Around the time the first heroic age ended, Zeus decided that the second kind of mist would be out into use, to 'protect' the mortal world. Like recently, this was done against the better decision of the Olympian counsel. Zeus' tyrannical reign. I trust you know what you are allowed to do?"

Percy nodded to the goddess. He was a little overwhelmed.

"I have a prophecy to help you," Lachesis spoke up.

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call," she sang. "To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"You shall be off, gather your army," Clotho said, waving them off.

"Hope be with you," the trio of ancient goddesses murmured as one once the demigods had shadowed traveled off.

**AN: You can probably tell, I don't live in NYC. Heck, I don't even live in the state of New York. I'm BSing these names through Google Maps.**

**The sailboat models featured are 420's, and "irons" is the point of sail where the boat is facing more than 45 degrees into the wind, resulting in the boat not getting any propulsion.**


	9. Chapter 7

The duo appeared in the back of one of Hephaestus's many forages. Beckendorf was there, a coincidence that fate had organized.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think we're supposed to attack Zeus, now, if not soon," Percy explained.

"We got a prophecy from the fates themselves," Nico added almost childishly.

"How much do you have ready?" Percy piped in, not really giving Beckendorf a chance to say anything between the two children of the big three.

"Do both of you still have your swords?" Beckendorf said.

"I do," they said in unison.

"Then there's a weapon for everyone," Beckendorf stated.

"Anything else?" Percy asked hopefully.

"No, I haven't had enough time," Beckendorf said, "As is, I'm already pulling out two swords that I've already made for my father and borrowing a spear from Nyssa."

"It'll do," Percy reassured.

"Who do we get next," Nico asked once Beckendorf had gotten out the arms.

"Clarisse."

oO0Oo

It had been decided that Nico would go inside to fetch Clarisse. Ares distaste in Percy would put the mission at stake, and the weapons that Beckendorf carried made a little more noise when he walked than he would like when sneaking around.

Ares armory was bigger than Nico expected. Sure, he had seen it from the outside, but the outward appearance did not quite give tribute to how much space there was on the inside. So far, he had been looking for Clarisse for about twenty minutes.

"You know, I don't like trespassers," said a deep, nasty voice right next to Nico's ear.

Nico jumped and turned around to come face to face with a tall man wearing sunglasses. "What do you want?" the preteen asked.

"To know why some pesky child of Hades is snooping around my palace," the god said.

"I was just looking for Clarisse, Lord Ares," Nico said wide-eyed.

"Then take, your going to need some muscle for the fight you're getting yourself into," Ares said.

"How…"

"God of war. I can tell when a good fight is about to get down. I might not be able to join you, but that doesn't mean I have to stop you. Give my father a good run for his money, he hasn't let me live it down that he was the one who shot the final strike at Typhon. Now go get Clarisse," Ares encouraged.

Nico ran off, surprised.

oO0Oo

Hermes let the quartet in with little question.

"Luke," Clarisse said, "it has started. Are you joining us?"

"Of course," the man said.

"Then get ready," Beckendorf handed him a sword, "It's time to answer the call."

oO0Oo

Annabeth joined the group as they left Hermes palace. They didn't know how she knew to join them, and they didn't ask her.

The march up to the throne room was quick. It was quiet though. They didn't speak among each other on the walk up, they did not offer each other words of encouragement or comfort, a notable contrast to the last time they had been of the warpath.

oO0Oo

"What are you doing? I told you nectar, not ambrosia, you idiot!" Zeus yelled at Thalia.

"I…don't know," Thalia stammered. She hated when her father got into a mood like this. He would yell and threaten for any amount time: it could be a minute, it could be an hour. It didn't really matter. His point was that he was always right, and she was always wrong, no matter how closely she followed his instructions. For a while, she had fought back, but now she just bowed her head in shame.

She heard the door to the throne room (that always seemed to be where Zeus hung out) and lifted her head to see six figures standing in the doorway. Her friends, her comrades, they might even play the role of secret saviors to her.

"What are you doing?" Zeus said to them.

"You can either step down from your position of king willingly, or you can be forced down," the voice of Percy cried out. Thalia grinned slightly.

"You really want to play this game, son of Poseidon?" Zeus said back.

"Then forced down you will be," it was Annabeth's turn to speak. The little girl Thalia had rescued was making her proud. Thalia's hand reached out and grabbed the spear hilt that was flying towards her. She turned it around and stabbed Zeus in the groin with it.

His legs seemed to weaken slightly, his faced winced. He took out a coin and flipped it, a golden sword growing out of it. "Really, daughter?" he said. He took the blade and sent it through the girl's chest.

"Not…father," she managed to gurgled out before she went fully limp. Zeus adjusted his sword slightly, and allowed the now dead body of his daughter slide off and fall onto the ground in a heap.

"Who's next?" He stated.

oO0Oo

Nico stared in shock for a fraction of a moment. He could hear his cousin's death ringing in his ears, so fresh that he barely realized that he was hearing it. _How could Zeus be so cruel? He's supposed to be her father! _the still childish part of his mind wondered. He became angry at Zeus. He was angry at removing the finer points of his freedom that he had already lost for so many years, and for being a cranky old man, but he was angriest about him killing his friend.

He raised his sword and ran forward. "Ahhh!" he heard himself grunt as he brought it down to slice the god king's flesh. Somehow, Zeus's sword was there to meet his, and it was a strain for him to hold his ground.

Percy was right next to him though, flashing his sword, trying to get close enough to do more than scratch him. He could make out Clarisse trying to get at him with her spear.

Zeus raised his sword, releasing Nico, to deal with someone else, and sent him stammering backwards. _NO! _he thought to un unyielding body, _Forward! There's a fight I need to finish! _He had gone twenty feet backwards before he managed to catch his bearings and rush forward.

He saw Annabeth, dancing among Zeus's feet, holding a knife in one hand and Thalia's fallen spear in the other. Luke was fighting alongside Percy, and Beckendorf was holding what looked like a hammer.

They all seemed to be tiring, except for Zeus who appeared livelier than ever. _One option, _Nico thought, _Got to get Zeus out of his own territory. _

He rushed forward next to Percy. "Change," Nico grunted out to Percy, "Not sky."

Percy at first didn't seem to hear him. Then Nico heard the thundering sound. A thousand gallons of salty water fell into the throne room, darkening it. He saw everyone dashed about the room, and Zeus dissolving into dust as he went unconscious.


	10. Chapter 8

When Percy woke up, the first thing he noticed was that the room he was in was annoyingly bright, particularly for someone who had just woken up. Then he noticed that he was in the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood. The thought _When did I get here? _crossed his mind. The he didn't see the final thing he noticed, he heard it.

"Half-Bloods are healing, thank's to Apollo's power, they fought Zeus deftly." Percy gowned a little.

"Ah, your up," Apollo said as he turned around.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"That water trick took a lot out of you. Nearly killed you and your friends. Had you not tried to direct it at father and Uncle Poseidon showed up any later, your friends would have drowned," Apollo said.

"I mean what happened to Zeus?"

"Your water trick pushed him into the central hearth," Apollo said, "That thing is all Greek Fire now, with how many arguments threaten to blow or douse it out. And he hasn't done all so well in water since he and Uncle started fighting a few thousand years ago. The Greek Fire combined with that water you summoned sent him right down to Tartorus. Uncle Hades made sure that he would stay down there for a while.

"You've been out for a week and a half, your friends have been waking up over the past few days. I've been patching you guys up, you got everyone pretty bad. If your father hadn't showed up to calm down and drain the waters when he did, the rest of your friends would have drowned."

"What happening on Olympus?" Percy asked.

"Well your father has taken over as leader for the time being, and Uncle Hades has come up to take over the extra seat.

"The Ancient Laws had been modified to fit the times. Immortals still have to do their duties, but they can stop by on holidays, birthdays, games, etc. if they manage their time right. They're also changing the leadership procedure: Every couple of decades or so, we choose a new leader. That one was Athena's idea actually," Apollo told Percy. "You should rest some more. You had some of the worst of it. Besides being dashed around the room like everyone else, the massive amount of energy and life-force it took to summon that much water overtaxed your systems. Invulnerable skin only goes so far towards protecting you from internal bleeding, especially with the close calls you probably had about hitting your mortal spot. Now try to get some sleep."

"I'm not tired though…"

Apollo touched the teenaged hero's head and he immediately went off to sleep.

oO0Oo

"Percy!" was the first thing he heard the next time he woke up. He looked over and saw Grover. Immediately he felt guilty. He hadn't thought about his Satyr best friend since Kronos had been defeated with everything that had been going on.

"Hi G-Man. What's up?" Percy said.

"Did you know that Zeus sealed the camp the day after the war ended? None of us could get out. We couldn't even get a good Iris Message. We only survived off the strawberries. I don't want to know how Mr. D will react when he notices," Grover said. His words made Percy feel even guiltier. While he had been off on his own adventure, his effort to contact Grover, who he had an empathy link with, had been even worse than his effort to contact his mother.

"Anything else happen when I was gone or out?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Grover said, "The mist has disappeared. At first mortals were freaking out with seeing Greek monsters and creatures everywhere, but now that their realizing that most aren't directly attacking unprovoked their calming down a little. Some have taken to sitting on the top of the hill and just watching us with binoculars."

oO0Oo

Percy was let out of the infirmary later that day.

He decided he was going to talk to the mortals that had congregated up the hill at Thalia's tree. Then thoughts of his cousin crossed his mind. _What happened to her body? Was it washed away, or was it recovered? When will the funeral be, or did it already happen? Will she even get a funeral? I don't know why not._

The hike up the hill was a little more grueling than it normally was, but not overly so.

Percy was surprised at how few people were at the top of the hill. From what Grover had said, he was expecting a small crowd at least. Instead there was one mortal woman who appeared to be in her mid to late twenties with a pair of binoculars meant for birdwatching.

"Hi," she said when he was maybe ten feet away, "I'm Melanie."

"I'm Percy," Percy said. He was a little surprised. Growing up in New York, he wasn't really used to highly friendly mortals, particularly ones friendly towards people that they knew could be potentially dangerous.

"I can't get through, do you know why?" Melanie asked.

"Only demigods and people who have their permission can get through," Percy found himself telling the woman.

"Demigods?" she asked.

"Kids of regular people, or mortals, and the Greek gods. Poseidon, Hermes, Athena, and the likes," Percy said.

"Like Hercules?" Melanie said.

"It's Heracles and no, not him. He was only a demigod."

"But he still became a god though, tight?" Melanie asked.

"No, not really. His image was put in the stars. Easy mistake to make," Percy said. "Why are you so interested?"

"A lot of people are angry," Melanie said. "A lot of people are scared and confused. Demigods have been confirmed as a species, it's been all over the news, but people aren't really sure what they are. People think they're dangerous. I don't think they are."

"How do you know we're not?" Percy asked.

"Because if you we're dangerous, I'd probably not be standing here right now," Melanie said.

**A/N: Sorry for the OC at the end, I hope she wasn't to bad. I really wanted to put in the perspective of at least one somewhat reasonably ****opinionated mortal that never knew about it all before, and I couldn't do that without an OC.**


	11. A Postlude With Atropos

I cut. I end. That is the most basic simplification of my job.

I do not decide how or when things begin. I do not decide what happens, or how it plays out. But I do decide when it ends. I decide how it ends.

Without me, we would live in a world without end. Without me, the pain, the suffering would go on forever. Without me there would be no surrender. There would be no final peace.

All things must come to an end, good or bad. I sometimes hate my job. This world, this haven among the heavens know as the earth, is a complete contradiction.

The people who walked upon it; they fight to much, they fear so much, and to soon they must end. Yet at the same time, they have hope.

I might not decide where it starts, or how it goes, but I do decide one of the most important parts: When it ends.

**A/N: It's over. Thank you for everyone who stuck with it until the end, all those who reviewed, and all those who alerted and favorited. Though the main fic is over, there will be at least one spin off story that I'm already working on.**


End file.
